ATLANTA—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun a criminal investigation into the recent Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 550 people in 43 states and Canada and been linked to the deaths of at least eight people, according to a report by CNN.
Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told reporters that the agency's office of criminal investigation will work through the Department of Justice to develop a case and prosecute if necessary.
The Salmonella outbreak is linked to peanut butter and peanut paste products processed at the Peanut Corporation of America's Blakely, Ga., plant.